Mariposa Lilies in the Central Oregon Desert
Thanks to some friends, I was recently alerted that there were a lot of Mariposa Lilies blooming on their property. Because these lilies are relatively rare and they are truly elegant looking, I was excited about the prospects. I visited several times and took several images with my Big Rig. The below image was captured with my digital camera. I hope the images with my large format camera turn out well so I can make large format prints from them.
Image of Mariposa Lilies blooming in the Oregon high desert
In some years it is rare to find any mariposa lilies blooming. Because of our wet spring in the Oregon High Desert, there were quite a few blooming this year but having two healthy mariposa blooms in the same composition was still rare. Having two vibrant blooms, with a few as of yet unopened blooms, adds an optimistic feel to this image. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that the film from my large format camera turn out well. If anyone finds any good groupings of Mariposa lilies, please let me know!
Thanks for Reading,
Mike Putnam
My Large Format Photography Gear
Because I often field questions about what Kind of camera I use, my camera is a good place to start when discussing my camera gear. Most people want to know how I can create such large vibrant prints and what kind of digital camera I use. They are always surprised to learn that I use a large format 4×5 film camera to capture all of my fine art images. There are lots of reasons I explored and have subsequently stuck with a 4×5 camera despite its dated technology and painstaking workflow. Below is a picture of the 4×5 camera that I affectionately refer to as “The Big Rig” which I use to capture all of my fine art prints.
My 4x5 camera , "The Big Rig" which I use to capture all of the images in my fine art landscape portfolio.
THE CAMERA. WHY I STILL USE A LARGE FORMAT 4X5 CAMERA FOR ALL OF MY FINE ART PRINTS.
1. I like it! I like working with a semi-historic camera, I like the feel of it’s cherry wood body, I like the feel of the brass fittings and I like the fact that I feel like I am creating art with art when I am composing a scene with this beautiful camera. It is a very Artisan way of capturing and creating fine art images. In a time of ever advancing digital technology, Film simply film simply feels more real to me. I consider myself a documentary artist. My intention is to capture natural scenes at their very best with minimal post processing. My 4×5 camera helps keep me in touch with that intention.
2. The deliberate process of using this camera makes me fine tune my images before exposure. This camera is largely the opposite of modern digital cameras with which you can fire away without discretion. The film is expensive as is the processing. I estimate that it costs me about $10 per exposure with this camera. The inherent deliberation required with using this type of camera, combined with the cost forces me to pay attention to composition, exposure and focus. This extra attention to details actually saves me time in post processing and that I like.
3. Perspective Control. Large Format cameras like mine are made with bellows so that the film plane and the lens plane can move separate of one another. This separate movement allows me to change the plane of focus in a given shot so that I can get a larger percentage of a given scene in sharp focus than is possible with digital and 35 mm cameras.
4. Big Image format. Part of the reason that I refer to my camera as “The Big Rig” is that it is physically large. The other reason is that it has a very large film format(4 inches x 5 inches, thus the term 4×5 camera). The magic of this kind of camera lies in this large film format. I have to enlarge my transparencies very little compared to digital and other types of film cameras when I want to make a large print. Because of this large film format, I can also make an exceptionally detailed fine art print at very large print sizes. I’ve read that a slow speed 4×5 transparency can be drum scanned and is the equivalent of a 150 megabyte digital camera. That’s huge and that is a big part of why I love this camera.
THE TRIPOD( see the above image)
I use a Gitzo 1228 Carbon fiber tripod and I love it.(Come on Gitzo, how about a little sponsorship money!) It is light for a tripod that is so sturdy because of the carbon fiber material that it is made of. It has plenty of stability, adjustability and it does a good job of dampening vibration which allows me to create images that are crisp and wiggle-free. I also use a Gitzo ball head, for a full range of camera focusing options.
THE LENSES
I carry a small stable of lenses when ever I go out shooting. Because telephoto lenses tend to have lower image quality than fixed lenses, I have opted to use only fixed lenses in my lens collection. My lens collection is pictured below.
My Lens Collection. These lenses include 75mm,90mm,135mm,210mm, and 300mm and at the bottom of this image is my Pentax 1 degree Spotmeter
4×5 camera lenses tend to have a field of view that is 3x wider than the equivalent 35mm lenses. That is to say that the 75mm lens for my 4×5 camera is roughly equivalent to a 25mm lens on a 35 mm camera. My lenses include a 75mm,90mm,135mm,210mm, and 300mm. In terms of a 35mm camera, this collection does not allow for a very long/telephoto option. This is fine with me. In general, the further away a photographer is from his or her subject, the lower the image quality is. Not having a longer lens option, forces me to get closer closer to my subjects and therefore I have more sharpness in my images and greater image quality. It is simultaneously a self control and a quality control mechanism! These lenses are all very specialized and therefore very expensive but without a great lens you cannot have a sharp image, so I’m willing to pay the price.
The pentax spot meter at the bottom of the above picture is the tool I use to take light readings which I then use to calculate exposure times. The fact that it is a 1 degree spot meter means that it samples light from a circle only 1 degree in diameter. This gives me greater control over exposure which is especially valuable is some unusual lighting situations.
Me and "The Big Rig" at my preferred office, high in the Oregon Cascades. Photo Credit: "Old Mike" Croxford
These are the high points from my gear collection. I have a hand full of other goodies that accompany me on my photography outings, but they aren’t as critical as my camera, lenses, and tripod. If you are an aspiring photographer and would like some further information or advice about photography gear, please feel free to contact me through the “contact” tab at the upper right hand corner of the home page of this website.
Thanks For Visiting,
Mike Putnam
Framing My Fine Art Landscape Photographs, A Little Bit of Blue Collar Bliss
Because I have fielded lots of questions regarding the framing That I select for my Fine Art Landscape Photographs, I’ve finally decided to write an informative piece about this very subject, and here it is! Many people have noticed that when my fine art prints are seen in shows or exhibits, they are all framed very similarly and most people tend to find the framing very attractive(at least the ones who hate my framing don’t tell me about it!) Below is one of my large format landscape photographs framed and hanging over the mantle in my house. A little bit of history will reveal why I frame my prints the way I do and then I’ll go into how I actually make the frames.
One of My Large Format Landscape photographs framed with the Cherry wood frames that I make by hand in my basement workshop.
Long ago, after I had printed my very first large scale fine art print, I took my print into a frame shop. Lets just say that it is a very large chain type of frame shop. This particular store frequently has 50% off sales, so I took a coupon in and selected some matting,mounting,glass, and moulding(the pre-made framing material). When the charges were totaled, the price was mind bogglingly high! Even at 50% off! I quickly realized that I would not be able to afford to frame many large scale fine art prints with this ridiculous pricing structure. A Do-It-Yourself mentality took over and I decided to try to make my own frame. Because I am fairly handy and I have done a little furniture making in the past, I extrapolated from what I already knew. An underlying insecurity drove me to select cherry as my wood of choice because I knew that if no one ever bought one of my framed prints, the prints would still match the mantle in our living room, which is also made of cherry wood! I have to admit that I have also had a preference for cherry wood in that It is hard, works well, it often has wonderful grain patterns and I think it looks beautiful with a natural Oil finish which I prefer. I’ll spare you the intricacies of the evolution of my framing techniques and I’ll jump straight to how I make my frames.
Before I delve into the intricacies of frame making, let me preface everything by saying that the following pictures are in no means fine art. They are snap shots. I’ll also add that my process of frame making is not fine art. It is hard blue collar work, that makes me feel tough. It is dirty, sometimes physically tiring, and after a long day of frame making, I’m exhausted. That being said, I love the results. I describe my frames as being simple, elegant, natural, and unique. They are a perfect compliment to my fine art photography. They are not perfect, because the real cherry wood that I make them from is not perfect, but it does have wonderful character that makes it much more interesting that processed, fake frames.
I start my process with real, cherry wood that I buy at Hardwood Industries here in Bend Oregon. The guys there, Tom, Hunter, and Mike are very helpful moving pallets of wood around with their forklift so that I can get to the high quality cherry wood that I need. I go through big piles of rough sawn wood an select boards that have mostly heart wood and interesting grain that I think I can make into a beautiful frame. Below is a pile of hardwood in the raw at the Hardwood Industries.
Piles of rough sawn Cherry at Hardwood Industries, in Bend, Oregon.
After selecting the boards I want, I stuff these 10 foot long pieces of lumber into my truck and haul them down to my basement once I arrive at home.
I’d like to remind you that My basement wood shop, which I affectionately refer to as Lava Lands Wood Shop(because there are small basalt columns in my shop which are remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption) is not a show room and it is not especially pretty but is is efficient and I do a lot of real blue collar work there. I bet the guys on “This old House” don’t have a lava flow in their shop! Perhaps the only thing pretty about my shop is my new Cabinet grade Table saw(Thanks to the folks at Grizzly who made it). I love my table saw! I is burly(526 lbs) and will cut through anything. Yes, Mom, I know it will cut through my arm too. Below is a dusty shot of my workhorse grizzly table saw.
My Grizzly table saw in my dusty,"Lava lands wood shop"
Back to the frames. I decide how many frames I want to make and of what size and then determine which individual board will work the best for my purposes. I then chop the boards to approximate length with my Dewalt miter saw.
Cutting hardwood to length in my wood shop with my miter saw
Next I rip the wood to the appropriate width with my beautiful Grizzly Table Saw.
Ripping wood to width on my table saw.
I usually rip the wood for several frames at a time until I have stacks of wood of the appropriate dimensions as seen below.
Unstained cherry wood cut to dimensions for picture frames.
Next I examine each piece of wood and determine which of its two wide faces are best for the front of a picture frames. I don’t like sap wood(white wood) to show on the face of my frames and I don’t want any cracks or worm holes to be present either. After the inspection, I cut a “Rabbit” out of one corner of the bottom face of the wood so that I have a notch to fit the print, backing,glass,matting, etc. into. Below is a picture of m cutting a rabbit out of a piece of framing wood.
Cutting a "rabbit" out of the back of a piece of framing wood
Next I step over to my vice and do some more fine tuned work. First I plane out the saw blade marks from the ends of each piece of wood.
Planing out the blade marks from a piece of hard wood
Next step is the first of many steps involving sanding. Sanding is dusty,tiring, monotonous, it makes my hands achy the next morning, and I do a great deal of it on every frame I make. Despite being a grueling part of making frames, the results are wonderful. To feel a buttery smooth face on a piece of hard wood is always rewarding. First I sand each exposed side of a given piece of wood with 100 grit sand paper, then I sand it with 220 grit sand paper.
Sanding the edge of a piece of hard wood.
Sanding is a very time consuming step in my frame making process. After it is thankfully over, I miter the corners of each piece of wood as seen below.
Mitering the ends of a pice of sanded wood
Then I’m left with lots of little triangular pieces of wood. I typically throw these pieces away but I suspect they would make great kindling for a fire place, so if any of you readers happen to live in Bend, Oregon and need some great kindling for your wood burning fire place, you are more than welcome to come pick it up at my house.
Waste wood/kindling for anyone who wants it!
After Mitering, I pair and mark and number the corners so that I can accurately join the corners when glueing and clamping them. I match up adjoining pieces and mark a joining point that serves as a marker for cutting a biscuit slot.
Marking a corner before joining and glueing
Below is an images of two mitered ends. One with a biscuit slotted into the joint face.
Two mitered ends with a biscuit slotted into one end of one of the framing pieces.
The idea of adding a biscuit joint to picture frames or any piece of furniture is that having a biscuit slotted gives more surface area for glue to adhere to, therefore making for a much stronger joint. This might be a little over-kill for picture frames but I like the idea that my picture frames are very durable and under normal conditions should last a lifetime.
Picture frame being clamped up after glueing
You can see glue dripping off of the corners of the frame in the image above. After 24 hours of hardening, I begin another long session of sanding to even out and round off the corners and to remove any glue that has been smeared on the frames face during the glueing and clamping process.
I start this session with 100 grit sandpaper and follow that up with 220 grit sandpaper. Once everything is smooth, I burnish the entire surface of the frame with 0000 steel wool. Burnishing serves to further smooth the frames surface and slightly darken it as well. With vigorous rubbing, the surface of the frame actually heats and finishes with a wonderfully smooth finish which helps to highlight the beautiful grain of the cherry wood that I use to make the frames. Burnishing gives me a brisk upper body work-out and gives my frames an excellent quality finish.
After burnishing, I apply natural oils to the frame which slightly darken the wood’s surface. Frames are often lighter in color than I want them to be after I finish oiling them so I set them outside in direct sunlight to help darken the frames a little bit.
Picture frames suntanning in my front yard
Suntanning my frames can be a little frustrating during winter storm cycles that offer little direct sunlight and frequent snow falls. If I have a delay in framing, it is usually because of this set in my framing process. For those of you not familiar with cherry wood, cherry naturally darkens with age and exposure to ambient light. Each piece of wood has a limit beyond which it won’t darken anymore, but some pieces can get quite dark. I try to reinforce this fact to collectors who select my framing rather than opting for their own custom framing. I am quite proud of how my frames look and how they make my landscape photographs look but it is important to note that I am never offended if someone wants to have one of my prints custom framed. I do the framing at cost so I receive no monetary benefit from someone selecting my frames. They are also very labor intensive( hours of work goes into each frame) but because I enjoy the process and because I like how they make my prints look, I continue to offer these hand made frames at a very reasonable price.
I should also note that while I do make all of my own picture frames, I do not cut my own mattes or glass. I leave that up to the guys at Art On The Go (David, Brian, and Matt) who do a great job at a fair price. I don’t have the space for matting equipment in my home and I honestly don’t think I could do as good of a job as they do anyway.
While making frames is far from blissful, I do enjoy the results and the opportunity to make something beautiful with my hands. It is a very blue collar activity but one that gives a little balance to my life as an Oregon landscape photographer.
If anyone has further questions regarding my framing Please feel free to contact me through my website, or E-Mail me directly at mputnam@bendcable.com
Thanks for Visiting,
Mike
Central Oregon Autumn Ground cover.The next fine art print in my Macro photography art gallery.
Despite what you might think, I often find more difficulty with macro photography than I do with the big sweeping western landscapes for which I’m more well known. Frankly, finding and capturing very small yet attractive scenes is very challenging for me. What small scene is interesting enough to merit the expense and time commitment of shooting the scene, having expensive prints made, and then having the image framed, and then having the courage to show the print in public and have it be scrutinized by your peers and potential collectors?
Central Oregon Autumn Ground Cover
In actuality,I find most macro photography somewhat cliched. How many close-ups of out of focus roses do I need to see? It is rare for me to find a macro image that is unique and doesn’t have any distracting and unsightly debris in the field of view.
Another difficulty I have with macro images is that they rarely convey a sense of place. I like to draw a parallel between Fine Art Landscape photography and the high end wine world. Both fine wines and fine art landscape photographs are a product of a special place on earth(think terroir in the wine world) and unique timing. No other wine will taste exactly like a 2007 Penner Ash Dussin Vineyard Pinot Noir (one of my personal favorites) and no other photograph will look exactly like a given fine art landscape photograph from Sparks Lake at sunrise after fresh snowfall in the mountains. Both the Penner Ash Pinot Noir and the Sparks Lake Print are unique because of the landscape and timing that make both of these wonderful things possible.
While the above photograph may never be one of my best sellers, I do feel that it conveys a sense of terroir and for me it holds enough interest to make it a worthy fine art photograph. I love the variation of color, the small water droplets and swirling motion of the uniquely shaped autumn foliage. This is an image that I nearly missed because I was focusing on the big picture. I was at Sparks Lake where I shot this New Sparks lake Photo. I was trying to find one more unique composition of South Sister and Broken Top framed over the glassy waters of Sparks Lake when I briefly looked down to find the splash of color and texture which eventually became the image you see above. I searched about on my hands and knees for quite some time, examining different little bits of ground cover until I found the tiny little scene that you see above. I shot this image with my large format 4×5 camera and I can’t wait to see this as a large framed print because of the way it uniquely represents a small but unique photographic terroir that is dear to me.
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
The Next Great Oregon Mountain Image?
I recently went out on a morning Landscape photography shoot with good friend, Old Mike Croxford and we had some stunning scenery. I’m still waiting for the large format images from that morning to get back from processing but I’m very excited about the potential of those big beautiful transparencies. Below is a digital shot that I captured that morning. Imagine this image blown up to 50 inches across and you’ll understand why I’m excited to get my 4×5 large format transparencies back from my developers!
Oregon's Mount Washington in Autumn with fresh fallen snow.
To read my account of that morning’s shoot, please follow this link about Oregon photos to our stock photography site. Oregon Landscape photography.
Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when the transparencies get processed!
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
Bend Oregon First Friday Art Hop!
I’ll be showing my fine art prints at Pandora’s Backpack in downtown Bend for the 2009 spring Art Hop on April 3rd. Pandora’s Backpack is located at 920 NW Bond Street, Suite 101 Bend, Oregon. The Spring and the Fall art hops are the most highly promoted and anticipated of the First Friday events in downtown Bend. Typically it is an exciting, festive evening, so please stop by and patronize the arts! Things tend to start to kick off at about 5PM and wrap up at about 9:30 PM. I’ll be there with my fine art prints and, homemade easels a smiling face and a few new images. Below is one of the images I’ll bring along which has been lightly shown but has received rave reviews from the Aspen tree lovers in Oregon.
Aspen grove in fall near skyliner drive west of Bend, Oregon
The pure density of the fall foliage in this aspen grove picture makes it an enjoyable and festive image to view. I’ve always been a huge fan of aspen trees and aspen groves in that they seem to have a special energy. While I won’t divulge exactly where this photo was taken, I’ll tell you that it was taken west of Bend and it probably isn’t where you’d think it is! I’ve searched all around Central Oregon and I had very little luck with aspen groves until I found this scene. If you are an aspen lover, I think you’ll enjoy this photograph. The Next image is one I captured while backpacking along the Broken Top trail with my good friend Old Mike Croxford who is currently on an extensive post retirement road trip. Click here to read more about Old Mike’s Road Trip. Old Mike is a great adventure partner because he can carry a lot of weight, he doesn’t complain, he loves the great outdoors, and because he makes coffee in the morning! I remember how pleased i was to return from taking sunrise shots adjacent to Broken Top Mountain in the Three Sisters Wilderness area and find that not only was Old Mike awake but he’d already made coffee. Excellent!
Picture of spring wildflowers along the flanks of Broken Top in the Central Oregon Cascades
The combination of senecio, red indian paintbrush, and alpine fireweed make a playful wildflower foreground with one of broken Top’s pinnacles as a background. This is a very alpine area where it is difficult to find great flowers like these. I’ve never found an official name for the small glacial lake in the mid-ground of this picture but my friend Dave Nissen of Wanderlust Tours refers to it as No-Name Lake which is as good as an official name as far as I’m concerned. When anybody who is as gifted of a naturalist and as sharp a person as Dave has a name for something, I don’t need any other references. Therefore, my official name for this lake is “No-Name Lake”.
This next picture is a favorite of both my wife and my good friend, Big Todd. It was taken somewhere near Alder Springs Trail Head south east of Sisters, Oregon. I’ll have it at the art hop but my wife will be mad at me until I put it back over her dresser, unless of course I sell it! It is my favorite grouping of Bitterroot blossoms in an area managed by one of my favorite charities, the Deschutes Land Trust. It really is a special area and a great early spring day hike as it is relatively low in elevation and has some diverse and beautiful terrain but if the balsamroot are blooming, please beware because the rattlesnakes are out of their winter hibernation!
Photo of bitterroot blossoms near Alder Springs trailhead in Central Oregon
This final spring art hop preview picture is of one of central Oregon’s favorite locations, Tumalo Falls. I shot this photo with my daughter in a driving rain. Despite the associated gusting winds, the rain was helpful. It served to enhance the saturation of the scene that was already at it’s peak of fall color. despite the fact that one can find hundreds of pictures of Tumalo Falls, this is still my favorite. The combination of color, composition, memories and a long exposure make this photograph a strong representation of a beautiful location.
Picture of Tumalo Falls near Bend, Oregon
Please stop by and say “Hello” if you happen to be out in downtown Bend during the upcoming spring art hop on April 3rd. I’ll have the above fine art prints there as well as many others.
I Hope to see you all there!
Mike Putnam
First Friday Fine Art Photography show at Pandora’s Backpack
I’d like to officially thank Rod Bien of Pandora’s backpack in downtown Bend for hosting my photography show last Friday(3/6/09) The store is great, Rod has always been generous in allowing my huge fine art prints and cumbersome easels to clutter up his store and the staff at Pandora’s backpack is also a great group of people. Mo, Jordan, Thad and everyone who chipped in at last Friday’s art walk. It is very appreciated.
Mt. Bachelor and Red Indian Paintbrush in the Central Oregon Cascades
We had a great turn out and it was especially nice to see some old friends and collectors who I had regrettably lost touch with in the past couple years. Above is one of the many images that are still hanging at Pandora’s backpack which I captured with my large format 4×5 film camera.
For those of you that don’t already know, Pandora’s backpack is according to my understanding a Patagonia concept store. Meaning they are privately owned but carry almost a full line of Patagonia clothing. Perhaps if Rod Bien happens to stumble upon this entry , he could give us some details. Regardless, it is full of high quality, well made outdoor gear from my favorite outdoor company, Patagonia. Old Patagonia catalogs were one of my early photography inspirations. When I lived in Kentucky with my parents, I had a small collection of photos cut out of old Patagonia catalogs taped up next to my spot at the dinner table. It was my happy spot! Back to Pandora’s Backpack. It is a beautiful store with very attractive brick walls and some nice rugged wood details, all of which combine nicely with my large format fine art prints and the hand made cherry wood frames that I create for them.
Lichen covered basalt columns in Central Oregon's High Desert
The above is another one of my fine art photos which is currently hanging at Pandora’s backpack. I captured this image near the alder springs area outside of Sisters, Oregon. I met lots of new Bend residents at the show virtually all of who are living in Bend for the outdoor experiences that are available here. Having the Deschutes River, the high desert, old growth ponderosas, and the Cascade Mountains all within minutes of each other and minutes of Downtown Bend make this an amazing place for me to live.
Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson as seen from Tam McArthur Rim
This is yet another fine art image hanging at Pandora’s backpack and yet another reason I feel lucky to live and work in Central Oregon. An endless supply of beautiful photography subjects and some amazing sunsets are nothing to complain about. The above photograph was taken from Tam McArthur Rim high on the flanks of Central Oregon’s Broken Top Mountain in the Oregon Cascades. The sunset was clearly stunning but the view is always grand from this location. From left to right are Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson. It is truly an amazing volcanic viewpoint.
If any of you are interested in seeing more of my work in person, please stop by Pandora’s backpack where my work is semi-permanently displayed. It is located at the On Bond street in the St. Clair building in downtown Bend.
Central Oregon Photography Fundraiser
Every February for the past several years, I submit one of my fine art prints to the annual photography fundraiser for the Family Resource Center of Bend, Oregon. It is an outstanding event which raises lots of operating capital for this noble charity. The event was previously held at the Riverhouse until last year when it was moved to the convention center at the Riverhouse. For more specific information about the Family Resource center and their annual photography auction please visit their website at Family Resource Center.
The FRC’s annual fine art photography auction is rumored to be the largest auction focused entirely on photography on the entire West Coast. The event has traditionally held both a silent auction and a live auction. It is traditionally quite an honor to be juried into the prestigious live auction. This is my 4th year to submit a fine art photography print. In the three previous years, my fine art prints have been juried into the live auction. I haven’t heard back yet about this year but I like my chances as I submitted an image that is local, recognizable and very attractive. This years fine art print submission is pictured below.
Fine Art Print of Broken Top Mountain and a flower filled meadow.
This picture of Central Oregon’s Broken Top Mountain is my favorite to date. The scene is simply over flowing with wildflowers in the foreground meadow and the warm morning light accenting Broken Top’s summit is intensified by the wispy clouds floating around the summit pinnacles. To find this many flowers in a Central Oregon Mountain scene is rare but it is also becoming a photographic speciality of mine. As I mentioned, this year’s fine art print has not yet been juried so I’m not yet certain that this image will be present in the live auction but that doesn’t stop me from being optimistic.
I’ll not step back in time and give a bit of person history about the FRC auction. My first year with the local pros such as Bruce Jackson, and Loren Irving who does a great deal of work on behalf of the FRC I nervously submitted the following sunset photo of South Sister as seen reflected in the glassy waters of Sparks Lake.
Fine Art photo of South Sister reflected in the calm waters of Sparks Lake during a beautiful sunset.
Despite the fact that this image has some stunning color, and captures a beautiful scene, I was very nervous about submitting it to the FRC for jurying. It was at that time my most stunning large Format fine art print. What if it wasn’t good enough? Well, it was and it sold very well but unfortunately I don’t know who ended up buying that particular print. this is unfortunate because I wanted to thank my new collector and I’ve never been able to do that. If anyone happens to know who ended up buying that fine art print please contact me! The following year I submitted the following fine art print of Central Oregon’s Tumalo Falls in Autumn.
Fine Art photo of Tumalo Falls in autumn near Bend, Oregon
I captured this fall image of Tumalo Falls with my daughter Emma by my side. We’d just finished a day hike together under rainy skies and I realized that the combination of heavy rain and fall color along Tumalo Falls and Tumalo Creek might make for an interesting photograph so we drove to the most iconic waterfall in the Central Oregon area. It was raining and blowing hard but the scene was beautiful. I fought with rain spots on my lenses for quite some time as my large format camera isn’t the speediest photography tool available. I captured many different compositions as I realized that the combination of setting, light and color was special. My little Emma was actually instrumental in keeping my equipment dry during what developed into a rare Central Oregon downpour. This ended up being my favorite of many good images from that day. For another cropped version of this image, please visit our stock photography blog at Pacific Crest Stock and browse the collection of waterfalls, lakes and streams images. Unfortunately, Debbie and I weren’t able to attend the auction that year because we took Emma to Disney Land which Emma probably enjoyed more than the fine art auction or getting drenched with me at Tumalo Falls! When I returned I got a congratulatory call from a fellow photographer who was Impressed with how much that photo sold for and how exciting it must have been for me! I believe that years total netted the Family Resource Center $3,500 which is exciting indeed. I think the excitement from my Tumalo Falls photo helped garner some extra attention for my work around Bend. The next year I was asked to be the featured artist of the event and the following fine art print was the featured print for the Auction.
Fine Art Photo of Mount Jefferson from the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area of Central Oregon
Being the featured artist for an event that I once was nervous about being juried into was of course a tremendous honor. The same Mt. Jefferson photo seen above is also to be featured on the cover of the soon to be released Visit Bend Central Oregon guide. I recently recounted that honor on our stock photography blog at Pacific Crest Photo Blog.
If any of you have an interest in top quality fine art photography, please visit the Family Resource Center’s website listed at the top of this entry. I’d also like to give a special recognition to Debbie Spicer of Eastlake Framing. She does all of the framing and much of the organizing for this event which is a huge time and monetary commitment. I suspect this event would not be possible without her time and effort. If you happen to go to the FRC photography auction, think Broken Top, bid early, bid often and bid high!
If you have any interest in licensing any of these images for editorial or advertising purposes please visit our stock photography site, Pacific Crest Stock . If you are interested in purchasing any of my fine art prints of these images, please contact me via the contact info at the top of this website’s home page.
Central Oregon Snow Photos
Virtually everywhere I go around Bend I’ve been hearing people praying to the proverbial snow gods. As it’s nearly December and there is only the lightest dusting of snow on our local mountains it would be good for everyone except my wife( she never wants cold or snow except on Christmas) if we were to get several heavy dumps of snow. In terms of my photography, I would definitely like some snow to cover dormant plants and to give the cascades a more alpine look and feel. I’ve got several exciting winter photography outings planned but no winter with which to work. Instead of fretting over sub optimal landscape photography conditions I’ve been working on some stock photography chores on the computer. I’d always rather be outside exploring but at least I’ve been fairly productive while waiting for the snow to fall. In anticipation of a late but inevitable winter, I’ve put together some of my favorite winter photos from previous years. All of these images were captured with my large format camera which can be a bit tedious but when I get it right it allows me to make stunning fine art prints. The first photo is our beloved Mt. Bachelor in its full winter glory, clearly not shot this year. This photo was taken two years ago in January. I’d been tracking weather patterns for over a week and was fortunate enough to capture this image at sunrise the morning after a 28 inch snow fall.
Mt. Bachelor at sunrise after a heavy snow fall.
This photograph like most backcountry winter images required lots of work. An early rise, a brutal snow shoe up Tumalo Mountain through deep snows with a heavy camera pack while the thermometer reading hovered at zero degrees fahrenheit. Getting to a winter shot is only part of the battle. Finding a level spot to set up a tripod so that it doesn’t sink in the snow is always a difficult task. Snow blowing onto my lens and leaving fuzzy areas on my images can be disastrous. Accidently breathing on my lens is inconvenient at best as it takes a bit of time before the haze will clear and if its too cold, my breath freezes on the lens making my photos look like they were shot through an opaque shower door. Not Good. Finally there’s the frustration of the visual qualities of snow itself. If I can’t get to snow before its been exposed to the sun, it is virtually never visually attractive. Here in Central Oregon, it is often sunny right after a storm, melting the snow and making unsightly bare patches contrast unattractively against still snow covered areas. Essentially, if you want a really attractive winter landscape photo you need to be there right after a fresh snowfall and hope the wind hasn’t already blown the snows off of the trees in the area you want to shoot.
I love alpenglow photos like this one because I like color in my images and because they are a reminder how how special it is to spend time in the mountains. Where else can you get two free and beautiful light shows daily, courtesy of Mother Nature?
The following image was logistically simpler but still had its difficulties.
My favorite ponderosa grove, near Sisters, Oregon.
I was fortunate enough to get to this, my favorite grove of Ponderosa trees during an active snow storm. During my extensive scouting trips around Central Oregon, this is perhaps the most colorful group of ponderosa trees I’ve found and as a bonus they have a nice composition. If you live around ponderosa trees you’ve probably noticed that they are not all created equal. Some have considerably more reddish color to their wonderful jigsaw puzzle bark than others do. I have a theory about why this is. It seems that the more colorful side of any given ponderosa tree is virtually always the side of the trunk that is more slanted toward the ground and therefore more sheltered from prevailing weather patterns. It just so happens that all of these ponderosas had a slight tilt towards where I was shooting from and therefore they all have exceptionally colorful bark. Because the snow was actively falling while I was capturing this scene, the foreground was well covered giving this scene a very wintry feel.
The next photo is of Benham Falls, on the river trail, near Bend. It was taken immediately after a heavy early season snow storm. My daughter, Emma was with me on this adventure, like many of my other photography outings. There are several things about this photograph that are special in my opinion. First, the fresh snow allows for a wintry look, like all of the winter photos I am especially proud to have taken. I love the flow patterns of the Deschutes, the icicles draped off of the rocks along the river’s shores and the heavy snow laden evergreen branches sagging under their new found burden. I think this image
Central Oregon's Benham Falls in winter.
will make an excellent fine art print because of its various patterns and textures.
The next image in this small snow dance collection was taken in Tumalo State Park, and once again, it was taken immediately after a heavy snowfall giving the vibrant red osier dogwood in the foreground an attractive texture of winter. While this is a simple image, I still enjoy the composition and angles created by the silky waters of the Middle Deschutes River in the background and the ruby glow of the foreground dogwood.
Red Osier Dogwood along the Middle Deschutes River.
Granted, this is a small collection of winter images but hopefully it will give some hope to those of you who crave fresh powder on Mt. Bachelor until Mother Nature can finally answer your prayers for snow.
South Sister, Camp Lake and Expeditionary Art
Some of my favorite photographs have been earned through physical toil and hard work as much as artistry and creativity. One of these favorites is a shot I captured from the summit of South Sister. South Sister is normally a long and difficult but not technical climb with a breath taking view as a reward. Several years ago I became determined to climb South Sister with full camping gear as well as my large format 4×5 camera, sleep on the summit and capture morning’s first light on Middle Sister, North Sister, and the rest of the pacific crest extending northward to Mt. St. Helen and Mt Rainier in Washington state. I climbed South Sister three different times with a fourty+ pound pack before finally getting the shot I was after. One of these climbs I did solo, the next with my friend Jake Bell, and the last with friend Brad Hensley and his sister Lisa. The shot came out better than I’d imagined, thereby making all the suffering along the way worthwhile. Below is that shot which I still enjoy, partly because of the work that went into capturing that moment, high in the Central Oregon Cascades.
"Summit Sunrise" Alpenglow illuminating the cascade crest extending from Middle Sister north to Mt. Rainier
Another one of my favorite Central Oregon locations is the Chambers Lakes area high on the crest between South Sister and Middle Sister. It is visible in the lower right hand area of the image above. It is a strange and beautiful alpine terrain along with stunning mountain views that makes this area special. An elusive shot which I’ve obsessed about but has to this day I have not captured includes South Sister reflected in Camp Lake with beautiful alpenglow bathing both of them. A couple years ago friend and fellow photographer, Troy McMullin and I hiked into this high lakes area in early spring only to find the lakes were frozen solid. We got some nice shots but not necessarily the ones we were after. With the recent snows high in the Cascades and a good weather pattern approaching, I decided to revisit the Camp lake area. I contacted several friends all of whom either knew better or were unavailable. I decided to go solo! I loaded camera and overnight gear into my trusty Dana Designs backpack. Starting pack weight topped out at 63 pounds! Yikes! The hike starts at Pole Creek trailhead outside of the city of Sisters. There were only two other cars there and the weather was pleasant, in the high 40’s. After October 15th, the hiking season is unofficially over, trails are no longer maintained and trail head signs were covered for the winter. During the first thirty minutes of hiking I zig-zagged around over thirty down trees blocking the trail. They were mostly beetle killed lodgepoles so it was no real loss to the forest but an inconvenience for me. Eventually the lodgepoles thin out as did the down trees. The trail is 6.5 miles one way to camp Lake and it’s beautiful setting. About half way to Camp Lake the trail was mostly snowed over and eventually I was post holing nearly every step because of my heavy pack. By the time I reached the lake, my legs were aching. My pain was worsened when I reached the lake to find that it was completely frozen over, again! I was devastated. the setting was beautiful, as always, but I would clearly not get the shot I had suffered for.
South Sister perched high above a disappointingly frozen Camp Lake
South Sister and my camp above the frozen Camp Lake just after sunset
The night was cold but beautiful and my beloved Western Mountaineering sleeping bag kept me cozy. The sunrise offered some alpenglow color and clouds that would not cooperate for a truly great photo.
Sunrise color and uncooperative clouds above Central Oregon's South Sister.
Detail of South Sister at sunrise
As the morning progressed, I snapped a few more photos until the light became too harsh. I packed up and enjoyed my last few moments alone at Camp Lake(first time I’ve been the only one spending the night there). The return hike was long but uneventful. I left having spent a beautiful evening at a phenomenal location but not having gotten the shot I was after. The good news is that I’ll soon return to this special location and try to capture the elusive reflection shot I’ve been after for years. If you are like me, you start dreaming about your first civilized meal on the way out of the back country. For my first meal, I chose to visit my good friends at Three Creeks Brewing Company in Sisters. Their signature burger was delicious as always. The Head Brewer, Dave Fleming has recently concocted a phenomenal IPA, call HooDoo VooDoo IPA. An outstandingly aromatic nose leads the way through a wonderfully balanced body and a supple refined finish. It’s a great beer and definitely worth a try if you are ever exploring in the Sisters area.
Big lake, Mt. Washington the Three Sisters and early season Snows
Typically, in the world of Central Oregon Landscape photography there is a shoulder season between Autumn and winter which can be prolonged and unproductive. During this shoulder season, which we are in the midst of right now, I always hope for a few light snows that add texture and interest to our Central Oregon Cascades. There is a fine line, however, between enough snow and too much snow. Enough snow allows access without requiring overnight camping and snowshoes. Recently we’ve had just enough snow. One spot I like to visit in our photographic shoulder season is Big Lake. It is near Hoo Doo Ski area and is beautiful any time of year. The shoulder seasons are my favorite times of year at Big Lake because of sunsets like I recently experienced there. Below is the first of many shots I captured that evening.
Mt. Washington and pastel skies reflected in Central Oregon's Big Lake
As the sun slowly faded I enjoyed the kind of light that is a landscape photographer’s dream. The initial soft pastels hardened into more intensive and contrasty colors. Below is a photograph taken within 10 minutes of the first, showing a quickly changing set of cloud formations.
Mt. Washington and Big Lake's shore line illuminated by pastel skies high in the Central Oregon Cascades.
Next is slightly later image showing Mt. Washington reflected in a small cove along Big Lake’s shore.
Mt. Washington reflected in Big Lake, high in the Central Oregon cascades
As the light faded an attractive and almost electric scene developed along Big Lake’s shore line.
Big Lake reflects a beautiful sunset high in the Central Oregon Cascades
Soon after the above shot was taken, the light faded, the wind picked up and I packed up my gear and headed home to Bend after a very successful and extremely beautiful sunset. The next photograph also falls into my “shoulder season” category. It was obviously taken on a different evening but one that was no less beautiful than the one I enjoyed at Big Lake. This photograph was taken at Bend’s Tumalo Reservoir. It is one of my favorite locations for Central Oregon landscape photography for several reasons. It is close to the city of Bend, and it offers a nice reflection of all three of the Three Sisters Mountains. The mid ground of the following image is an area commonly known as the skyline forest. This area is privately owned and was previously known as the Bull Springs tree farm. It is composed of over 33,000 acres and encompasses much of the area between Bend and the Three Sisters Wilderness area. It would truly be a shame to have this wonderful area developed into a resort with the possibility of over 1,000 homes. It would be a shameless waist of breeding habitat for elk and mule deer and recreational habitat for people. Can you imagine the view of the Three Sisters from Awbrey Butte spoiled by a city the size of Sisters where there was once nothing but beautiful ponderosa forests? Can you next imagine the following image spoiled by a city crowding the area beyond the the reservoir? Groups like the Deschutes Land Trust are working hard to make sure that the cities of Bend and Sisters never have their view ruined and that valuable wildlife habitat isn’t permanently destroyed so that out of state developers can get richer. The Deschutes Land Trust is a special group filled with great people, many who I know personally and all of whom have Central Oregon’s best interests in mind Another group worth looking into if you are interested, as I am, in preserving the skyline forest west of Bend, is the Central Oregon Landwatch.
Enough of my conservation ramblings, below is the photograph which reminded me of the struggle to save the skyline forest area.
Sunset over Tumalo Reservoir, west of Bend. Just beyond the tree line is the area referred to as the "skyline forest"
Shevlin Park, Tumalo Creek, and Fall Color
While on a recent trail run, with Debbie, I was stunned by the fall color in Shevlin Park, one of the true jewels in Bend’s park system. I’ve been there hundreds of times before but this time was different. During our usual Shevlin Park Trail Loop run, I found myself repeatedly stumbling while craning my neck for a better look at the outstanding fall color. I’ve never witnessed such a display there especially along Tumalo Creek near the far end of the loop trail. I returned three times specifically for photographic purposes and got better images than ever before from that location. Below is perhaps my favorite. I love the flow of the water, the color is of course excellent, and the fact that I was able to work a couple Ponderosa trees into the composition. Shevlin Park was thankfully spared from logging and therefore has a wonderful assortment of medium to old growth ponderosa trees. Including ponderosas in the composition helped capture what Shevlin Park means to me.
Beautiful fall color emanates from the riparian banks of Shevlin Park's Tumalo Creek.
The above image was captured near the up stream end of the Shevlin Park Loop making it a little more than a short stroll to get there. The next image was taken closer to the park’s parking area. It shows Larch trees(sometimes referred to as tamarack trees) in vibrant autumn color framing the distant Tumalo Creek which runs through Shevlin Park. as many of you know, Larch trees are the only evergreen trees that lose their needles annually. Is that an oxymoron or what? Shortly before losing their needles they turn an attractive golden color.
Larch trees in autumn color along Shevlin Park's Tumalo Creek in Bend, Oregon
Finally I’ll include a closer image of Tumalo Creek’s atractive flow pattern adorned by autumn color on both of its shores.
Autumn color along the banks of Shevlin Park's Tumalo Creek
Hopefully, my large format images from these sessions will turn out as well as the digital versions and I’ll finally make a fine art print that does justice to one of my favorite Bend area locations. In the future, I hope to give quick accounts of some of my outings so that others can share in beautiful Central Oregon locations at their seasonal best. If you know of other hikers, trail runners, backpackers or outdoor enthusiasts who would like seasonal trail updates for the Central Oregon area, Please link them to the following website Bend Oregon Hiking.
Broken Top Photography Adventures
Some of my favorite Central Oregon hiking areas are the alpine basins that surround Broken Top Mountain, located in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area near Mt. Bachelor. There are several beautiful hiking trails that hive good access to amazing alpine scenery high on the flanks of Broken Top, including the Tam McArthur Rim Trail, Park Meadows Trail, Green Lakes Trail, the Crater Ditch Trail, and the Broken Top Crater Trail. All these trails have their own unique visual attractions and different time frames at which they are at their floral apex. This of course means that , as a backcountry photographer I’m forced to make several photographic journeys to Broken Top every year. What torture. Tam McArthur Rim is one of the first Hikes my wife and I did when we moved to Oregon. It is beautiful, rugged, not too difficult, and easily accesible from the city of Sisters, Oregon, where we lived at the time. We now live in Bend, Oregon but the Sisters area still holds a special place in our hearts.
One of my favorite images of Tam McArthur Rim, which extends eastward from the shoulders of Broken Top and is highly visible from the city of Sisters is found below.
Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson as seen from Tam McArthur Rim
This shot was taken from Tam McArthur Rim and displays Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson to the far right. Obviously it was a spectacular sunset, one well worth the hike and even worth the uneasy feeling that comes with a cold hike out in the dark of night. Another of my favorite locations on Broken Top is the area covered by Broken Top Trail. This trail starts at a high elevation and stays there. The next image is from a couple years ago but I’m still fond of it. It was taken in the glacial basin at the southern end of the Broken Top trail.
Broken Top as seen from the end of the Broken Top Trail with a wildflower foreground in Central Oregon.
Finally I’ll include several images from a recent series of explorations on the east side of Broken Top. I scouted this area several times within the same week and decided the flowers would soon climax. I then made sunrise outings on consecutive mornings to appropriately capture what I considered an exceptional floral display with a gorgeous back drop of Broken Top’s crater. The first morning, the light was poor and it was very hazy due to forest fires in the vicinity. The next was different. I awoke at 3:30 AM grabbed my enormous backpack full of cameras and lenses and drove to Sparks Lake to determine if the conditions warranted a long drive down forest service road 1370 with an hour long off trail hike carrying 50 pounds of gear to follow, all before sunrise. The conditions at Sparks Lake were questionable at best. Broken Top was completely obscured except for occasional glimpses of its summit. I envisioned moody light enhancing an already gorgeous foreground backed by the theatre of Broken Top’s pinnacles intertwined with misty morning clouds. This was one of those mornings where I gambled and won! Below are several images I’m thrilled with and I feel the best is yet to come. Only on exceptional occasions like this do I shoot with my 4×5 camera with the hope that a beautiful fine art print will be the ultimate reward. When the light was at its most dramatic, I utilized my 4×5 film camera and when it was less optimal, I shot with my high end digital SLR. So, what you see are essentially the second class images from a special morning. I’ll let everyone know if the prints come out as well as I hope they will. Regardless, enjoy the next few images and please let me know which you prefer by leaving comments at the end of this article.
Central Oregon's broken Top shrouded in mystic clouds and fronted by a beautiful field of flowers.
Broken Top with a foreground of Indian paintbrush, senecio, larkspur and pink monkeyflowers
Even Mt. Bachelor posed for a few images.
Overall it was a beautiful and rewarding morning in one of my favorite backcountry locations, high on the flanks of Broken Top Mountain, in the heart of the Central Oregon Cascades.
Three Finger Jack and Canyon Creek Meadow
Debbie, Emma and I recently enjoyed an overnight backpacking trip in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area. The trail is relatively short (about 5 miles round trip) and the scenery is stunning. Emma was a trooper while Debbie and I groaned about pack weight. Below is a shot of my girls shortly after entering the lower Canyon Creek Meadow.
Debbie and Emma packing into lower Canyon Creek Meadow
The flowers in the lower meadow were a little bit ahead of their prime, but the area is beautiful nonetheless. Below is a shot of our campsite in the lower Canyon Creek Meadow with a nice view of Three Fingered Jack.
Campsite in the Lower Canyon Creek Meadow
Upper Canyon Creek Meadow is much more alpine in nature and is generally considered to be more scenic, which makes it well worth the additional effort to get there. While the upper meadow is stunning, camping there is discouraged due to heavy use. Instead, backpackers are encouraged to camp in the lower meadow and day hike up to the upper meadow sparing it from the extra wear and tear associated with overnight use. Because of the heavy snow pack from last winter, the flowers in the upper meadow are still a bit early, but there were individual groupings that were quite exceptional. below is one of my favorites. Mountain Heather in the foreground, red Indian Paintbrush in the midground, and backed by the towering Three Fingered Jack.
Three Fingered Jack fronted by Mountain Heather and Indian Paintbrush.
The next couple weeks should continue to be quite beautiful in the upper Canyon Creek Meadow with thousands of lupines and Monkeyflowers preparing to bloom. I will leave you with one last image of Three Fingered Jack taken from a previous visit to the upper Canyon Creek Meadow which features a nice foreground of moss yellow monkeyflowers and pink monkeyflowers. This image was captured with my cherrywood 4×5 large format view camera.
Three Fingered Jack with Yellow and Pink Monkeyflowers
Columbia River Gorge and Tom McCall Preserve
On the weekend of May 10th, Emma and I decided to visit our good friends, the Max, Chrissy, Joe Joe and Jill Reitz in Hood River, Oregon. Unfortunately, Chrissy(Momma) Reitz and Joe Joe and Jill were out of town, leaving my long time friend Max as the only one left in the Reitz household. The Weekend was wonderful. Emma and I arose early and shot at Tom McCall nature preserve in the Columbia River Gorge, near Rowena, Oregon. The light was good for macros, but not great for more expansive landscape shots.
Balsamroot and Lupines bloom in the Columbia River Gorge
Several other photographers were at the preserve that morning, shooting and enjoying the scenery. One of the several other photographers I met there, Kim, was nice enough to take some shots of Emma and I and forward them. He has an attractive website, which you should visit if you like landscapes and flower photography. Emma, through her mother’s genetics prefers to sleep in and on this we had to awake at 4:30AM to arrive at the Tom McCall Nature Preserve before sunrise. I knew she would be cold, so I brought my orange down jacket, which she fondly refers to as “The Great Pumpkin”. She predictably got cold so I zipped her up in the great pumpkin and she was instantly comfortable. Comfortable enough to fall asleep in the middle of the meadow. Several fellow photographers visited to chat and see my large format view camera and they never knew she was there beside me because her head was tucked inside the pumpkin, making for a very cute photo.
Emma asleep inside "The Great Pumpkin"
Emma Awake at Tom McCall Nature Preserve
We enjoyed the remainder of the day watching while a BMW commercial was being shot near us on the winding roads below Tom McCall nature preserve. There were hundreds of people involved and it was very secretive in that no photographs were allowed because a new sporty car model was being filmed which had not been released to the public. The next day, Max, Emma and I visited Fairy Falls, also in the Columbia River Gorge area and took the following photo of Fairy Falls. We visited several other waterfalls in the gorge that day and as usual enjoyed them immensely.
Fairy Falls
John Day and the Painted Hills of Central Oregon
Painted Hills and cumulous clouds
The painted hills unit in the John Day area of Central Oregon has been a favorte of photographers since its discovery because of its stunning colors and other worldly scenery. I’ve been there many times. Some visits were more successful than others, but one particular shot that I’ve obsessed over has eluded me for quite some tome. In early May, in certain years, yellow flowers bloom in the folds of the painted hills, creating a stunning extra element to what would otherwise be an attractive scene. Well, this was one of those few select years.
A lone Painted Hill glows with morning's first light
I left Ben Oregon early on MAy 30th to scout the painted hills. To my excitement, the chenactis and golden bee plants were blooming just as I’d hoped. The ranger, Scott, a very nice fellow, said it had been five years since they had bloomed in the folds of the painted hills. He even promised an up close guided tour of the hills if I returned that evening, so I returned to Bend and returned later that evening, with my wife, Debbieand daughter, Emma. I was fortunate enough to capture this image of blooming bee plants in the grooves of the painted hills the next morning.
Chenactis flowers and Painted Hills, central Oregon
It was truly a privilege to get such wonderful access to such a special location. This short trip was any landscape photographer’s dream. Great sunrises, sunsets, phenomenal subject matter and my little family camping in the great outdoors.
Sunset on the Painted Hills of John Day
Below you’ll find a shot Of Emma and Debbie in our little tent at the end of a long day of hiking in the John Day unit of the painted hills of Oregon.
Emma and Debbie
Oregon Cascade Mountain Gallery
High Desert Print Gallery
Trees and Wildflower Prints Gallery
Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls Gallery
All content © 2010 by Mike Putnam Photography